The stability of steady slip and homogeneous shear is studied for rate-hardening materials undergoing chemical reactions that produce weaker materials (reaction-weakening process), in drained conditions. In a spring- slider configuration, a linear perturbation analysis provides analytical expressions of the critical stiffness below which unstable slip occurs. In the framework of a frictional constitutive law, numerical tests are performed to study the effects of a nonlinear reaction kinetics on the evolution of the instability. Slip instabilities can be stopped at relatively small slip rates (only a few orders of magnitude higher than the forcing velocity) when the reactant is fully depleted. The stability analysis of homogeneous shear provides an independent estimate of the thickness of the shear localization zone due to the reaction weakening, which can be as low as 0.1 m in the case of lizardite dehydration. The potential effect of thermo-chemical pore fluid pressurization during dehydration is discussed, and shown to be negligible compared to the reaction-weakening effect. We finally argue that the slip instabilities originating from the reaction-weakening process could be a plausible candidate for intermediate depth earthquakes in subduction zones.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
References
1.
Raleigh
, C. B.
, and Paterson
, M. S.
, 1965, “Experimental Deformation of Serpentinite and its Tectonic Implications
,” J. Geophys. Res.
,70
(16
), pp. 3965
–3985
.2.
Heard
, H. C.
, and Rubey
, W. W.
, 1966, “Tectonic Implications of Gypsum Dehydration
,” Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.
, 77
, pp. 741
–760
.3.
Murrell
, S. A. F.
, and Ismail
, I. A. H.
, 1976, “The Effect of Decomposition of Hydrous Minerals on the Mechanical Properties of Rocks
,” Tectonophysics
, 31
, pp. 207
–258
.4.
Ko
, S.-C.
, Olgaard
, D. L.
, and Briegel
, U.
, 1995, “The Transition from Weakening to Strengthening in Dehydrating Gypsum: Evolution of Excess Pore Pressures
,” Geophys. Res. Lett.
, 22
(9
), pp. 1009
–1012
.5.
Milsch
, H.
, and Scholz
, C. H.
, 2005, “Dehydration-Induced Weakening and Fault Slip in Gypsum: Implications for the Faulting Process at Intermediate Depth in Subduction Zones
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 110
, B04202
.6.
Wong
, T.-F.
, Ko
, S.-C.
, and Olgaard
, D. L.
, 1997, “Generation and Maintenance of Pore Pressure Excess in a Dehydrating System 2. Theoretical Analysis
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 102
(B1
), pp. 841
–852
.7.
Brantut
, N.
, Sulem
, J.
, and Schubnel
, A.
, 2011, “Effect of Dehydration Reactions on Earthquake Nucleation: Stable Sliding, Slow Transient and Unstable Slip
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 116
, B05304
.8.
Rutter
, E. H.
, and Brodie
, K. H.
, 1988, “Experimental ‘Syntectonic’ Dehydration of Serpentinite Under Conditions of Controlled Pore Water Pressure
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 93
(B5
), pp. 4907
–4932
.9.
Rutter
, E. H.
, and Brodie
, K. H.
, 1995, “Mechanistic Interactions Between Deformation and Metamorphism
,” Geol. J.
, 30
, pp. 227
–240
.10.
Arkwright
, J. C.
, Rutter
, E. H.
, Brodie
, K. H.
, and Llana-Fúnez
, S.
, 2008, “Role of Porosity and Dehydration Reactions on the Deformation of Hot-Pressed Serpentinite Aggregates
,” J. Geol. Soc. (London)
, 165
, pp. 639
–649
.11.
Rutter
, E. H.
, Llana-Fùnez
, S.
, and Brodie
, K. H.
, 2009, “Dehydration and Deformation of Intact Cylinders of Serpentinite
,” J. Struct. Geol.
, 31
, pp. 29
–43
.12.
Hirose
, T.
, Bystricky
, M.
, Kunze
, K.
, and Stünitz
, H.
, 2006, “Semi-Brittle Flow during Dehydration of Lizardite-Chrysotile Serpentinite Deformed in Torsion: Implication for the Rheology of Oceanic Lithosphere
,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.
, 249
, pp. 484
–493
.13.
Chernak
, L. J.
, and Hirth
, G.
, 2010, “Deformation of Antigorite Serpentinite at High Temperature and Pressure
,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.
, 29
, pp. 23
–33
.14.
Sulem
, J.
, and Famin
, V.
, 2009, “Thermal Decomposition of Carbonates in Fault Zones: Slip-Weakening and Temperature-Limiting Effects
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 114
, B03309
.15.
Brantut
, N.
, Schubnel
, A.
, Corvisier
, J.
, and Sarout
, J.
, 2010, “Thermochemical Pressurization of Faults During Coseismic Slip
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 115
, B05314
16.
Baumberger
, T.
, Berthoud
, P.
, and Caroli
, C.
, 1999, “Physical Analysis of the State- and Rate-Dependent Friction Law. II. Dynamic Friction
,” Phys. Rev. B
, 60
(6
), pp. 3928
–3939
.17.
Rice
, J. R.
, Lapusta
, N.
, and Ranjith
, K.
, 2001, “Rate and State Dependent Friction and the Stability of Sliding between Elastically Deformable Solids
,” J. Mech. Phys. Solids
, 49
, pp. 1865
–1898
.18.
Nakatani
, M.
, 2001, “Conceptual and Physical Clarification of Rate and State Friction: Frictional Sliding as a Thermally Activated Rheology
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 106
(B7
), pp. 13347
–13380
.19.
Holland
, T. J. B.
, and Powell
, R.
, 1998, “An Internally Consistent Thermodynamic Data Set for Phases of Petrological Interest
,” J. Metamorph. Geol.
, 16
, pp. 309
–343
.20.
Evans
, B. W.
, 2004, “The Serpentinite Multisystem Revisited: Chrysotile is Metastable
,” Int. Geol. Rev.
, 24
(6
), pp. 479
–506
.21.
Llana-Fúnez
, S.
, Brodie
, K. H.
, Rutter
, E. H.
, and Arkwright
, J. C.
, 2007, “Experimental Dehydration Kinetics of Serpentinite using Pore Volumometry
,” J. Metamorph. Geol.
, 25
, pp. 423
–438
.22.
Moore
, D. E.
, Lockner
, D. A.
, Shengli
, M.
, Summers
, R.
, and Byerlee
, J. D.
, 1997, “Strengths of Serpentinite Gouges at Elevated Temperatures
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 102
(B7
), pp. 14787
–14801
.23.
Segall
, P.
, and Rice
, J. R.
, 2006, “Does Shear Heating of Pore Fluid Contribute to Earthquake Nucleation?
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 111
, B09316
24.
Rice
, J. R.
, 2006, “Heating and Weakening of Faults during Earthquake Slip
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 111
, B05311
.25.
Rice
, J. R.
, and Rudnicki
, J. W.
, 2004, “Stability of Spatially Uniform, Adiabatic, Undrained Shear of a Fault Zone
,” unpublished manuscript.26.
Platt
, J. D.
, Rice
, J. R.
, and Rudnicki
, J. W.
, 2010, “Strain Localization within a Fluid-Saturated Fault Gouge Layer during Seismic Shear, Abstract T31D-03
,” Proceedings of the 2010 Fall Meeting, AGU
, Dec. 13–17, San Francisco, CA
.27.
Rice
, J. R.
, Rudnicki
, J. W.
, and Tsai
, V. C.
, 2005, “Shear Localization in Fluid-Saturated Fault Gouge by Instability of Spatially Uniform, Adiabatic, Undrained Shear
,” Eos Trans. AGU 86(52)
, Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract No. T13E-05.28.
Platt
, J. D.
, Brantut
, N.
, and Rice
, J. R.
, 2011, “Strain Localization Driven by Thermal Decomposition During Seismic Shear
,” oral presentation at the 2011 fall meeting
, AGU, Dec. 5–9, San Francisco, CA.29.
Segall
, P.
, and Rice
, J. R.
, 1995, “Dilatancy, Compaction, and Slip Instability of a Fluid-Infiltrated Fault
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 100
(B11
), pp. 22155
–22171
.30.
Garagash
, D. I.
, and Rudnicki
, J. W.
, 2003, “Shear Heating of a Fluid-Saturated Slip-Weakening Dilatant Fault Zone 1. Limiting Regimes
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 108
(B2
), 2121
.31.
Walker
, A. N.
, Rutter
, E. H.
, and Brodie
, K. H.
, 1990, “Experimental Study of Grain-Size Sensitive Flow of Synthetic, Hot-Pressed Calcite Rocks
,” Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. (London)
54
, pp. 259
–284
.32.
Tullis
, T. E.
, Horowitz
, F. G.
, and Tullis
, J.
, 1991, “Flow Laws of Polyphase Aggregates from End-Member Flow Laws
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 96
(B5
), pp. 8081
–8096
.33.
Liu
, M.
, 1997, “A Constitutive Model for Olivine-Spinel Aggregates and its Application to Deep Earthquake Nucleation
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 102
(B3
), pp. 5295
–5312
.34.
Kirby
, S. H.
, 1987, “Localized Polymorphic Phase Transformations in High-Pressure Faults and Applications to the Physical Mechanism of Deep Earthquakes
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 92
(B13
), pp. 13789
–13800
.35.
Hobbs
, B. E.
, and Ord
, A.
, 1988, “Plastic Instabilities: Implications for the Origin of Intermediate and Deep Focus Earthquakes
,” J. Geophys. Res.
, 93
(B9
), pp. 10521
–10540
.36.
Frohlich
, C.
, 1989, “The Nature of Deep-Focus Earthquakes
,” Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.
, 17
, pp. 227
–254
.37.
Green
, H. W.
, and Houston
, H.
, 1995, “The Mechanics of Deep Earthquakes
,” Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci.
, 23
, pp. 169
–213
.38.
John
, T.
, Medvedev
, S.
, Rüpke
, L. H.
, Andersen
, T. B.
, Podladchikov
, Y. Y.
, and Austreim
, H.
, 2009, “Generation of Intermediate-Depth Eathquakes by Self-Localizing Thermal Runaway
,” Nat. Geosci.
, 2
, pp. 137
–140
.39.
Green
, H. W.
, and Marone
, C.
, 2002, “Instability of Deformation, Plastic Deformation of Rocks
,” Rev. Mineral. Geochem.
, 51
(1
), pp. 181
–199
.40.
Hirose
, H.
, Hirahara
, K.
, Kimata
, F.
, Fujii
, N.
, and Miyazaki
, S.
, 1999, “A Slow Thrust Slip Event Following the two 1996 Hyuganada Earthquakes beneath the Bungo Channel, Southwest Japan
,” Geophys. Res. Lett.
, 26
(21
), pp. 3237
–3240
.41.
Dragert
, H.
, Wang
, K.
, and James
, T. S.
, 2001, “A Slient Slip Event on the Deeper Cascadia Subduction Zone
,” Science
, 292
, pp. 1525
–1528
.42.
Rogers
, G.
, and Dragert
, H.
, 2003, “Episodic Tremor and Slip on the Cascadia Subduction Zone: The Chatter of Silent Slip
,” Science
, 300
, pp. 1942
–1943
.43.
Obara
, K.
, Hirose
, H.
, Yamamizu
, F.
, and Kasahara
, K.
, 2004, “Episodic Slow Slip Events Accompanied by Non-Volcanic Tremors in Southwest Japan Subduction Zone
,” Geophys. Res. Lett.
, 31
, L23602
.Copyright © 2012
by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
You do not currently have access to this content.
